And just to be clear, at this point, in the unlikely event that Kelly's agent is not behind these statements, Kelly himself needs to come out today with an airtight, definitive statement that he his not behind those statements, that Notre Dame's institutional support of the football program is not an impediment but an advantage, and that he will be Notre Dame's head coach in 2015 and beyond.

Of course, that last part would ruin my Christmas. But absent such a statement, there is no logical basis to believe that he and his agent are not behind these statements.